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00:00Hey guys, Chris here again from CarExpert. We're back at Queensland Raceway and today we've got
00:04the Golf GTI TCR. This variant is focused on being a track specialist based off the TCR racing series
00:12which VW do very well at. We've got 213 kilowatts and 350 newton metres of torque, so as much power
00:18as a Golf R, but a little bit less torque and only front-wheel drive. So I'm excited to see
00:23how this thing goes.
00:40Okay, initial impressions. Seating position is not bad, I'm moving around a little bit.
00:45It is a slightly supportive seat but still not the stability I'd ideally like on a track.
00:51It does really feel like the seating position you're getting in a lot of front-wheel drive
00:55cars, you're a little bit more on top of the car. I would rather be down a little bit lower.
01:06Engine feels good, nice smooth power band. Like I said, 213 kilowatts so it's a good step up,
01:13similar power to the Golf R. 350 newton metres of torque and you've got to be careful in a
01:18front-wheel drive car. Torque can really kill traction so delivering that power is a key and
01:25it does feel nice and smooth so that's good. Visibility is excellent in this car. A-pillars
01:32don't cause any issues and the way into the corner is a big large screen. Steering feels
01:37pretty precise. It'd be interesting to see what the feedback's like when we pick up the pace.
01:41Let's test out the brakes a little.
01:44They're not bad, I like that. It actually braked even better than I expected. I guess we've got
01:49quite a lightweight car so that's a big advantage but nice firm headle feel, good response and for
01:54a car that's focused at the track, it'll be interesting to see whether it holds up after
01:58a couple of laps or whether it does still drop away. Suspension doesn't feel overly firm,
02:03you're getting some feedback from the road as you can imagine but it's not
02:06not too firm and I think they've got to be careful with that because you do lose the
02:09traction and in this car being just front-wheel drive, traction is pretty key in terms of getting
02:15off the corner, getting that 2.0-litre turbo power to the ground. It's always a challenge
02:20and four-wheel drive does have a big advantage over that. Alright, let's start to build up a
02:24bit of speed and head out for a couple of hot laps. So I've got traction control off,
02:30I've got everything in sports mode, manual gear shift. So just moving around a little bit in the
02:36seat, I'd like a bit more support in the upper body, I'm going to be leaning over a lot because
02:40I feel like there's good lateral grip there. Alright, get a good exit and let's see what lap time this does.
03:06So
03:36uh
03:42so
04:04there you go, 61.29 was the best lap which is decent. Unfortunately the the slowest car
04:12we've had on the track so far but we've had some pretty impressive cars out here. When you compare
04:16that to the S3 which is all-wheel drive and a bit more expensive, basically 1.2 seconds away and
04:22and I think a lot of that's the uh the all-wheel drive just off the slower corners, the traction,
04:27that ability to just get going and then all the way down the straight you're gaining time
04:31because you've got a similar engine. Although they say it's more track focused, it's still
04:36not super stable and I was moving around a lot in the seat which made it hard in the high speed
04:41corners but it's still fun. A quick change of directions are great, it's quite precise and also
04:47a little bit nervous which is good for the track. If I over committed I had some understeer on entry
04:51so I did have to be a little bit careful. The brakes were okay but I found the pedal a bit
04:57inconsistent. They were always there but sometimes the pedal would be firm and other times
05:02it would be a bit long. It still stopped okay but just didn't inspire absolute confidence. The engine
05:07was good and more than enough for the the traction that you got available. When you're
05:12with a front-wheel drive car you're always limited by traction and torque is the killer, like getting
05:16that torque to the ground through just two wheels is so difficult and I really had to try and manage
05:21that. No real issues with the the differential, you've got to allow a certain amount of freedom
05:26on the differential to be able to get the cars into the corner and it just missed that initial
05:31locking to to catch the slip which you're always going to get in a road car, you don't want it to
05:35feel like a race car. Although the suspension felt a little bit soft it did handle the kerbs
05:40really well and that didn't upset the car at all. I did feel a little bit when I lent on the outside
05:46kerbs on the corner exit that I just lost a little bit of grip when I didn't want to
05:51and that could just be a damper control issue, just not quite enough support there.
05:57So there you go guys, the Golf GTI TCR. Great fun little car on the track but also a challenge to
06:03get a good time out of. My three top tips with this are, the first two are pretty connected, it's
06:07about how you get off the corner. So basically you've got to manage the throttle really well,
06:11you've got front wheel drive, plenty of torque and power so you've got to control that on the exit
06:15and the best way to do that is by flattening the car out, so opening the wheel, getting the car
06:19level and getting both front wheels square on the ground and you're going to get a good run down the
06:22straight. Also be careful under braking, although the brakes are better than a normal GTI they still
06:27are a little bit on edge when you push hard on a track so just be a little bit careful there.
06:31Thanks again for watching guys, if you found the video useful please hit the like,
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06:39have any questions or feedback go ahead and leave them in the comment section below.
06:42Take care and I'll see you again next time.